Advice please on how to get rid of this!

[Ninkanink]

Hi all,

This is growing out of the front of our house and we want to make sure to be rid of it for good to avoid damage; am I right in thinking there’s some sort of poison you can paint on it that will kill off the roots? I’m sure I saw something on telly once years ago but I can’t remember anything about it. Does anyone know what I can/should use?

TIA 🌻🌻

Forgot to attach photo!

I would cut it right down to ground level and then pour a full kettle of boiling hot water on it (watch your feet!).

Looks like brambles, very difficult to get rid of as tough as old boots and the roots will be right through. If you google “getting rid of brambles” then you should get a steer.

It looks like a tree seedling, just pull it out, no need for poisons. If you can you could try loosening the soil round the root to make sure it all comes out.

that's a field maple (syccsmore) seedling.

they have an enourmous tap root. don't pull it out unless you want to repair a couple of bricks. cut it off at the wall

There is no soil, it’s stone/mortar. It’s not at ground level (it’s coming out on our raised stone porch) so i thought it must be quite established to be growing through...also bigger than it probably looks - about .5 inch in diameter. I’m just nervous about cutting down/trying to pull it out and not getting the whole thing. Thank you for the advice so far!

Ah thank you @redcandlelight it’s good to know a bit more about what it is.

This is not the sort of weed to worry about at all, just cut it off as a pp said! It won’t come back.

Looks like a sycamore sapling. If you can try and pull it out. There is a paint on weed killer, but can't remember what it's called now, but I'd recommend trying not to use things like that and pull out as much of the root as you can.

Just cut it off, and keep an eye on it - if it comes back cut it again until it gives up.

Please don't use weedkiller, it's not good for the environment around it.

Actually, sycamore saplings can grow back. I googled the weed killer and it's Roundup tree stump killer. You cut the sapling back and paint it on the cut end. It kills off the root system. www.amazon.co.uk/Roundup-Tree-Stump-Weedkiller-250ml/dp/B01BY4FFPK?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

It’s our first house after many years of renting and it’s very old and has had to have a lot of work done to get it up to scratch so we’re probably just being overly nervous. Had visions of a huge tree growing out of the front. 😆🙄 it’s a Victorian terrace and none of the houses have front or back gardens, just stone porches at the front and courtyards at the back, so that’s why we thought using a bit of proper robot killer wouldn’t harm anything. But we’ll so some more research.

Proper robot killer 😆😆

It's a sycamore seedling. Just pull it up. Relax.

If it keeps growing just keep cutting the new growth off, it'll eventually give up but it might take a while.

Sorry @Ninkanink cutting it won't work. I've moved into a house that has a sycamore overhanging in the garden. I have those saplings all over the front drive, the back garden, cracks in the cement, under the shed. We went as far as to dig everything up and hack the GINORMOUS roots and although it slowed it down, they haven't gone at all. Weed killer also doesn't work. We've been here 4 years and our landlord used a really heavy duty corrosive weed killer and all it did was weaken the leaves the next time it grew back (it killed every other weed and they never returned).

Every few months I just cut it back as much as I can and just maintain that.

If anyone has any permanent solutions I'd love to know too

Thanks!👍👍

Just looking at your picture again yours is still quite small actually so the weed killer might just work. Ours are ancient and grow gigantic every few months.

P.s. the weed killer was a pretty dangerous one as it burnt everything in sight. Not sure where he got it from but green thumb came and used one which was said to be safe. If you have them nearby perhaps give them a call?

@Notsogreenthumb that sounds like a bit of a nightmare!

Plants or trees won't grow if you keep cutting them - you don't see lots of oaks, ash trees etc popping up in your lawn. They might come once or twice but you are mowing so that saps their energy and they give up. Cut it off.

@Ninkanink it sounds worse than it is . I've got accustomed to just cutting them down every so often. What is a nightmare however, is every time the tree sheds more 😡😤. Can't wait to move out!

Gosh you really just need to chop it off! Or yank it out. If it does come back, do it again. Weed killer isn’t necessary. You can deal with this in ten seconds.

Be glad it isn’t mares tail. I will be digging that up for the rest of my life....

You could try a blowtorch on it.

We seem to have killed of sycamores with stump killer by drilling large holes vertically into the stumps and filling the with the stuff.

Then bagging over to keep wildlife off.

I'm going to go out and find them sprouting now, aren't I?

@Notsogreenthumb, if the stumps are big enough, drill them and trickle salt in.

Boiling water works as a weed killer. I do it on my drive so I don’t have to use poisons.